Raise a Toast to These Beers No One Drinks Anymore

Everywhere you turn, America is inundated with new beers. Gone are the days of choosing between Bud and Miller. Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to walk into a beer bar where you may not recognize the majority the menu. That’s good news for craft beer lovers but bad news for some of the old stalwarts of the industry – and the grizzled old men who like to keep a can of these brands in the cup holder of their lawn chair.

So what beers are on the outs? Culling sales data from 2009 to 2014, the site 24/7 Wall St. looked at all beers that shipped at least 400,000 barrels leading up to or during that period to see which big brews have seen the biggest sales declines. The result was their list of the top ten “beers Americans no longer drink.”

Interestingly, on the outskirts of the list are some of the biggest names in the business. Budweiser (which came in at #10) has seen sales decline 26 percent since 2009. And at #8, Miller High Life has seen sales slip by 27.3 percent. Stuck between the two is Natural Light. These numbers really speak to the dynamic shift in the beer industry as of late.

However, the top four on the list appear to be in the most dire straits. Bud Light Lime, once a brand that seemed to be carving a new niche for Anheuser-Busch is now far less trendy, losing 43 percent of its ground over the past five years. At least its doing better than the top three: Miller Genuine Draft, Milwaukee’s Best and Bud Select, all of which have seen sales cut at least in half, by 54.5 percent, 55.7 percent and 60.4 percent respectively.

According to 24/7 Wall St., Bud Select has seen “the largest decline of any major beer brand sold in the United States.” It’d be shocking news if I wasn’t even more shocked to learn that 475,000 barrels of Bud Select shipped last year; I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone drink a Bud Select in my life.

But personally, I’m most distraught over Miller Genuine Draft’s continued decline. I grew up drinking MGD and truly have a soft spot for that big brew. Though when I grew up Russia was communist and Batman was Michael Keaton so I guess things change.